What Will It Take to Keep Hawker Culture Going? A Conversation at the National Library

Ask a few Singaporeans where to find good char kway teow, and you can probably keep the conversation going well past lunch. Ask what would make it worthwhile for someone to spend the next 30 years cooking it, and the conversation gets rather more difficult (and rather more useful).

On 14 November, the National Library is hosting State of the Plate: Where is Singapore's Hawker Culture Headed? It is a 90-minute discussion about how hawker culture is changing, what preservation means, and the forces working against it. If you have been following the questions raised on Silicon Wok, this is a programme worth looking at.

Beyond Missing Our Favourite Stall

I am interested in what happens after we say that a dish deserves to survive. Who learns to cook it? What would make the work a reasonable choice for the person taking over? How much change will the rest of us accept before declaring that it no longer tastes like the version we remember?

These are awkward questions, especially when our affection for hawker food comes with fairly firm opinions about what lunch should cost. Granted, a panel discussion will not settle the economics of running a stall. Having said that, I would rather see more of these conversations happen while there are still people to learn from; waiting until a family announces its last day leaves everyone with rather fewer options.

There is plenty to talk about.

NLB's line-up brings together Ryan Kueh, whose work examines the history and evolution of hawking in Singapore; Yeo Min, a pastry chef, cookbook author and co-founder of Museum of Food; and Leslie Tay, the doctor and food writer behind ieatishootipost. Jimmy Yap, editor-in-chief of BiblioAsia, will moderate. Between them, the programme brings historical research, heritage food education and years of documenting what Singapore eats into the same room.

That combination is what makes this worth sharing. I hope the discussion gives room to the people doing the cooking, and to the choices that might allow another generation to keep doing it. Those are questions behind Silicon Wok's own work too; I would be interested to hear where others think the priorities should lie. I look forward to hopefully grabbing Ryan for kopi after his panel.

The Details

• Programme: State of the Plate: Where is Singapore's Hawker Culture Headed?
• Date: Saturday, 14 November 2026
• Time: 2.00–3.30 pm, Singapore time (SGT, UTC+8)
• Venue: Possibility Room, Level 5, National Library Building
• Language: English
• Registration: Required; register 1 ticket per person through NLB.

Check availability and register on NLB's official event page.

NLB asks participants to arrive 10 minutes before the session starts, so aim for 1.50 pm. Seats may be released to walk-in participants if you arrive late. Attendance is taken through the NLB Mobile app; download or update it beforehand and scan the QR code at the venue. Check that the email address on your NLB account is current, as programme updates will go there.

Programme details and speaker information are from NLB's official listing, checked on 9 November 2026 (SGT). The event was listed as scheduled, with registration available at that check; availability can change. This is an independent Silicon Wok recommendation, not an NLB partnership or sponsored post.

If you go, what is the question you would most like this panel to answer? If you don’t, what questions can I raise for you?